Last Round of Injections

Today's view of his right hip. There is no more socket or ball of the femur.

Noah was approved for hip replacement last summer, but after the new surgeon told him that "worse case you lose your leg," Noah quickly opted out. Fast forward to now and the pain has gotten pretty bad, so much so that I got him a cane at Christmas that he uses daily to help ease the burden on his leg. 

He's finally to the point where he knows he needs the replacement. We made an appointment with his old orthopedic surgeon at Phoenix Children's Hospital to see if he could get one last round of cortisol injections (he has to be injection-free for at least 3 months pre-replacement). After the routine x-rays, the surgeon came in and basically told us that this continues to be one of the worst hips he has ever seen. He informed us that Noah is now at end-stage osteoarthritis (stage 4) where there's no more cartilage present between his bones. So when the bones of the joint come in contact with each other they painfully rub against each other during movement. This results in severe pain with loss of movement and function. The surgeon approved him for the last round of injections but told us it most likely won't be very effective. It's pretty discouraging considering all that he's been through since the age of 4, but hopefully a hip replacement later this summer will bring him better mobility and comfort. 

He gets his last round of injections Wednesday, April 6th.